Homeland Defending against Al Qaeda

Several terrorist organizations around the world pose risks to the United States. Al Qaeda is the most likely organization to be preparing an attack on American soil. This can be extrapolated from its previous interactions with the United States. Since its inception in the late 1980s, there has been a profound animosity for Americans. The late Osama bin Laden gathered the disorganized armed factions left behind when the Soviet Union left Afghanistan's country (McKay, 2017). This was intended to prolong resistance against the Americans, who now had a different agenda.  The group has succeeded in the past in hitting mainland United States in grisly attacks that have left thousands dead. It has also managed to hit two United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Their recent and worst attack happened on September 11, 2001, when jihadists adhering to the group hijacked four planes. Two of the planes were plunged into the world trade center tower killing the passengers as well as those inside the building while the rest was targeted at the Pentagon (Gunaratna, 2005).

The jihadist’s philosophy of the group is rooted in the works of Sayyid Qutb, and Abd al Wahhab makes America and its citizen a target for the group. In an address in 1998, the leader Osama bin Laden made shocking declarations claiming that the group intended to obliterate Israel as well as wipe out Americans and their allies (Gunaratna, 2005). He further called for the Muslim world to harm any American civilian or military citing it as personal obligations to Allah. This was seen as a move for the globalization of jihad. The group is adamant in its endeavor to spread jihadism calling for the willingness of its members to sacrifice their life for the propagation of its ideologies.

In the year 2011, America succeeded in the murder of the leader Osama bin Laden who was hiding in a military town in the west of Pakistan. This was a great achievement accomplishing after years of his man hunt (PBS, 2014). This was a significant blow to the whole organization. Unexpectedly the organization has thrived through its new leader Al Zawahiri a former Egyptian surgeon. He has vowed to reassert the group's positions globally by planning attacks that will have a maximum impact. The group enjoys funding from questionable charitable organizations that source funds from Gulf countries (Gomez, 2010). Some of these donors are unaware of the use of their funds while some are fully aware of the end use of the money. This creates an essential avenue for the stumping of Al Qaeda through identifying these charities and forcing the countries where they are based to shut them down would go a long way in shutting down its operations. This would hurt its capability to plan and actualize an attack (PBS, 2014).

The entrance of new terrorist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant commonly known as ISIS, has shifted the focus of the global terrorism from Far East to the Middle East. Occupying large vast of lands in Iraq and Syria, it is threatening the stability of both countries (Thomas, 2015). Although both organizations are organically different, they have innovated a new model for radicalization. Using the internet as the medium for the spread of their skewed ideologies, they have successfully recruited followers from Europe Africa and the United States. This has resulted to devotees of the group traveling to their main bases in Afghanistan Syria and Iraq to fight at the front in aid of the group. For those that do no travel, they pose a great challenge to national security in their local countries.

Some of the fighters do also return to their native countries after this their engagement with theses organization. These individuals have the potential of radicalizing the local if not apprehended. It is key to note that in the past these terror organization were able to plan large scale attacks using bombs. This was attributed mainly due to lax in security, especially in the airports. Nowadays the group has shifted to the use of individualized attack that involves simple weapons with deadly impacts (Thomas, 2015). Mostly involve single individuals who mostly use grenades and machine guns to shoot people after detonating a grenade. This ensures maximum impact as the people scatter for the exits.

Hard targets such as government offices and military bases have become hard to hit leaving soft target such as social gatherings as the only targets. Since most of these radicalized individuals are citizens, it becomes hard to monitor them and their activities. The recent attack in San Bernardino involved a single individual attacking a group of people gathered for a company meeting. These forms of attacks are a headache to major law enforcement agencies since they happen sporadically (PBS, 2014). Rather than targeting prominent Americans or its military they are attacking innocent and defenseless civilian who have gathered for their social functions. They disguise themselves as a participant in these functions and unleash their deadly attacks to the unaware public.

Domestic Data Collection Program

This new form of attackers requires cooperation of all law enforcement agencies under the Department of Homeland security. It is essential for key information about suspects to be collected and extrapolated to prevent these attacks from happening. It is important for key information is acted upon immediately to reduce the carnage (Oleson, 2016). The group sometimes uses encryption to circumvent the authorities in their transfer of information. The department has developed several systems that essential in the in the collection of information. Through wiretapping of suspected accomplices, the agencies can be able to acquire fine details of doubtful activities although this will require a court order to actualize. This system is commonly referred to as SIGINT and generally, involves the surveillance of technological and communication equipment used by terrorists (Mayer, 2016). The information collected is used to establish communication link and intentions of specific individuals.

Homeland can explore other options in the use of HUMINT a program that engages in the accumulation of human insights and intelligence in gathering information. The system includes the use of agency officers to infiltrate the criminal organization and provide information from the inside of the organization. It further involves the surveillance of suspects and watching suspicious conducts. HUMANINT helps in collection of essential psychological militant designs and associations. The police have formed an organization to facilitate this endeavors. It is called the Major Cities Chiefs comprising of police officials from major urban centers in the United States. It facilitates the sharing and accumulation of information with the aim of gathering enough data to indicate wrongdoing and suspicious activities accurately and successfully. HUMANINT should be expanded into cyberspace where most radicalization is happening (Babington-Smith, 2004). This will aim at the curb the rising radicalization of young people.

Using the same model as used in the real world the agencies can train locals who have the dialect of the terrorist aiming to infiltrate these organizations in the cyberspace. Posing as a member will help identify their locations intentions and networks. The enforcement can further use this information to track down physical locations of these suspects (Mayer, 2016). These operations ought to be secure and cautious to avoid arousing suspicion from the suspects.

Intelligence Analysis Strategies

When the information is collected its analysis, becomes critical to the success of the whole operation. It is essential that high level of systems are used to analyze this information seeking to establish a pattern that may point to a suspect. The analysis of data helps in determining the threat level of an attack as which directs in prioritizing essential operations to undertake. OSINT features as one of the systems used by companies to analyses collected data. The system collects readily available information and tries to synthesize it for helpful information (BENS, 2015). Though scattered the openly available information can be useful in the creation of links that can help in the discovery of terrorist networks.

The United States has done a wonderful job in beefing up security along border points as well as airports. This has reduced the number of attackers from outside countries presenting a much difficult task. Tracking domestic terrorism is a difficult task due to the scant information of these individuals that is available (Mayer, 2016). Monitoring of social media accounts proves to be a gold mine for discovering would be terrorists. Most lone attacks freely air their ideologies through the social media. Filtering through this accounts can, therefore, reveal suspect and recruits of jihad. Narrowing down to these individuals and owners of social media accounts can provide suspects of radicalization.

Since most radicalization is happening online agencies should engage in the creation of false accounts purporting to support terrorism. When undertaken by highly trained cyber intelligence analysts it can provide links to the dark web where discussion forums are conducted in secrecy with password protections (US Government, 2009). The accounts would there offer privy information to the agencies of possible attacks as well as essential contacts of discovering cell groups. This would ensure that potential terrorists are discovered during the conspiratorial phase.

The homeland security department should vouch for the creation of detention legislation that allows for the detention of terrorists waiting for their further interrogations, and this will help get the maximum information from these terrorists before they spread their ideologies to other Americans (Richelson, 2002). It is important also to note that the department should undertake measure aimed at indoctrinating already radicalized citizens. This will help in the reduction of people joining theses extremist groups

In conclusion, the United States had made at of progress towards the reduction of domestic terrorism. From 2001 there have been over 75 foiled attacks that being planned and perpetrated by Islamist endorsed terrorist. This shows the commitment of the government in stemming this vice. However there is still a long way to go as the threat has evolved and is taking new shape every day, the department ought to be vigilant on the different changing faces of extremists and be a step ahead of these groups. Cooperation throughout the different agencies will be essential in stopping this vice.



 



References

Babington-Smith, C. (2004). Evidence in camera: The story of photographic intelligence. UK: Sutton Publishing.

Business Executives for National Security (BENS, 2015). Domestic security: Confronting a changing threat to ensure public safety and civil liberties. Washington, DC: BENS. Retrieved from https://www.bens.org/file/CounterterrorismReport.pdf

Gomez, J. M. (2010). A Financial Profile of the Terrorism of Al-Qaeda and its Affiliates. Retrieved from Perspective on Terrorism: http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/view/113/html

Gunaratna, R. (2005, May 19th). Al Qaeda's Ideology. Retrieved from Hudson Institute: https://www.hudson.org/research/9777-al-qaeda-s-ideology

McKay, H. (2017, June 16). Al Qaeda in Afghanistan: How Terror Group Survives, Thrives. Retrieved from Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/06/16/al-qaeda-in-afghanistan-how-terror-group-survives-thrives.html

Mayer, M.A. (2016). Enhanced human intelligence is key to defeating terrorists. New York: American Enterprise Institute. Retrieved from http://www.aei.org/publication/enhanced-human-intelligence-is-key-to-defeating-terrorists/

Oleson, P.C. (2016). AFIO’s guide to the study of intelligence. Virginia: Association of Former Intelligence Officers. Retrieved from http://www.afio.com/publications/AFIO's_Intelligence_Study_Guide_ver1_for_public_release_2017Jan01.pdf

PBS. (2014). Background: Al Qaeda. Retrieved from Frontline: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/network/alqaeda/indictment.html

Richelson, J.T. (2002). The wizards of langley. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Thomas, T. L. (2015). Al Qaeda and the Internet: The Danger of “Cyberplanning”. 112-123.

US Government (2009). A tradecraft primer: Structured analytic techniques for improving intelligence analysis. Retrieved from http://www.analysis.org/structured-analytic-techniques.pdf